how to: can chicken

so this past year i've really been "growing up" as far as my food storage goes and have even bravely ventured into canned chicken. for just a few select recipes, and i always buy it at costco. but this past week, i learned how to actually can and preserve chicken at home! seems gross - i'm not going to lie, it kind of is. but i think it's a money-saver, and it's a great way to be able to have more protein in your home storage, especially if you don't have a deep freeze (or it's already full). so here goes:

(1) chop your RAW chicken into chunks and put in a large bowl, sprinkling a
layer of salt on in between each layer of chicken. at this time, also add about 1 1/2 inches of water to your pressure canner and turn heat to high.

(2) wash your jars before using, leave them in the dishwasher so they stay warm
until ready to use them. wipe the rims of the jars, making sure there is no dirt/specks of dirt on your rims (otherwise they may not seal properly). keep your lids in a pan of hot water until ready to use. spray inside of jars with cooking spray -- this will help your chicken come out easier.

(3) using a funnel, fill your clean and warm jars with chicken. do not add
water or anything else. using a plastic knife, stir it around to get out any air
bubbles. leave about 1/2 inch headspace. re-wipe your rims and put the lid on.
place jars in your pressure canner.

(4) place jars in your pressure canner. put the lid on, but do not put the
weight on yet. let the canner exhaust (blow steam out of the top) for 7
minutes.

(5) after 7 minutes of exhausting, put the weight on and then watch for your
gauge to get to 10 pounds of pressure.

(6) when it reaches 10 pounds, adjust your heat so the pressure stays even at 10
pounds. if using pint jars, then process for 75 min. if using quart jars, then process for 90 minutes.

(7) at the end of your processing times, remove jars and let cool until
completely cool. wash jars and write the date on top. you're
done!

alright, i hope you learned something. good luck!

chicken tortilla soup

when i decided to start gathering for my family's food storage, i did some looking around and checking out all types of food storage calculators and stuff to get some ideas of how to start and what kind of items i should be collecting. and i kept finding that canned meat was bascially on everyone's list. and i'll admit it -- i'm totally grossed out by any manner of canned meat that is not simply white tuna packed in water. so i figured i'd better come up with a handful of meals i can make -- and want to eat -- that use canned meat (ssshhh... don't tell my husband; he'd die). i have made this soup several times and it always gets rave reviews. it's easy, fast and uses basically only staples that you would already have at home.



chicken tortilla soup

so gather up:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped (can also use dehydrated onions if you have them)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced or a TBSP or 2 of garlic spice
- 1 medium jalapeno pepper, chopped (if you have it, and if you like it spicy)
- 1/2 green pepper, chopped (you can leave this out if you don't have it at home)
- 2 cans of canned chicken (i like white chunk chicken breast)
- 1 can of corn
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 (14 oz.) cans of chicken broth
- 2 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
- 2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce

and then you:
- saute the onion, garlic, jalapeno and green pepper in olive oil in a big pot until soft (about 5 min) - dump in all the rest of the stuff and bring to a boil
- then simmer for an additional 45 minutes or so (if you don't have that much time, no worries)

this soup is great served with any or all of the following: tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, or avocado slices (whatever you've got on hand). you could also toss in some black beans for extra protein.

this recipe makes about 10 servings and is only about 3 g fat per serving - so enjoy!